How to Create a Magical Christmas Table Setting

8 November 201728 November 2023 Categories: Christmas · Interiors & DesignsTags: Candles · Christmas · Christmas cards · Coasters · Delia · Green · Greenery · Holly · Inspiration · Juliet · Napkins · New Design · Placemats · Robin · Table linen · Tree · WreathLeave a comment

There is something wonderful about bringing out the same decorations for your Christmas tree every year. The joy at remembering how each one came to be part of the box. We feel the same about the way we decorate our tables for the various Christmas feasts. We love to see the familiar table linen and placemats. It is sweet how the whole family enjoys this, the children delighting in the traditions as much as the older generations. Start with the end in mind – that moment everyone you love is gathered together around the table. Why not begin some new…

All Creatures Great & Small

2 November 20163 November 2016 Categories: Interiors & DesignsTags: beatrix potter · Delia · Design · english country garden · garden · Green · Inspiration · Juliet · Kitchenware · Rabbit · Rabbit & CabbageLeave a comment

Rabbit & Cabbage was one of the first prints we designed.  We launched it on a deckchair in 2006.  It has remained one of our all-time best-sellers.  Over the years we have tweaked the design a little, but the deckchair remains true to the original. Inspired by tales of Peter Rabbit and the Flopsy Bunnies running amok in Mr McGregor’s garden, the design is filled with nostalgic references to our childhoods. The chocolatey brown and vivid green of the vegetable patch, the lazy buzzing of insects on a summer’s afternoon, and the secret delights of the English country garden.     Like all…

10 Years

13 October 20161 February 2017 Categories: History & MakingTags: Collaborations · Delia · Design · History · Juliet · New Design · Screen printLeave a comment

Hip hip hooray, it’s our 10th birthday! 2016 marks 10 years of Thornback & Peel! It’s been a fantastic adventure that’s seen us launch many new collections and products, open our first shop and collaborate with a whole host of exciting brands. So, with a large bowl of Jelly & Cake in hand, join us in celebrating some of our highlights from the past 10 years. Moving into our first studio In the very early days, we simply rented table space at Cockpit Arts, Deptford which allowed us to test and sample loads of products while still retaining our day jobs. But by 2006 we were ready to take…

Q&A: Ruth Tomlinson, Fine Jeweller

28 September 20164 October 2016 Categories: History & Making · London & ElsewhereTags: Bloomsbury · Cockpit Arts · Delia · Design · diamond · History · Inspiration · Jeweller · London · Ruth · Ruth_Tomlinson · Shopping · Studio · Tomlinson · treasureLeave a comment

Internationally renowned fine jeweller Ruth Tomlinson works just along the corridor from us at Cockpit Arts. We love looking at her beautiful collections. The rough cut pieces and settings are more organic than conventional jewellery, creating a sense of history and buried treasure. There is a lot to covet.

Blackbird & Bramble

22 September 201627 September 2016 Categories: Interiors & DesignsTags: Baking · Delia · Inspiration · Kitchenware · New Design · PYO · WalkingLeave a comment

The inspiration behind our new Blackbird & Bramble print – I particularly love this time of year when the seasons are in transition and the light is softer. There is so much to harvest in the slanting evening sunshine, the hedgerows laden with dark shiny treasure and the air still warm. We pick blackberries for puddings, balanced precariously on tip toe trying to get at the cluster of really big ripe ones just out of reach. The bowl gradually gets fuller but inevitably much of it is crammed into our mouths before it gets back to the kitchen. Hands stained, tummy full.

Q&A: Katharine Morling, Ceramicist

21 July 201628 July 2016 Categories: History & MakingTags: ceramics · Cockpit Arts · Delia · Inspiration · Katharine Morling · Rabbit2 Comments

Katharine Morling is an award-winning ceramic artist. We asked her about her inspiration, life and ceramics.

Strawberry Fields Forever – PYO this Summer

29 June 201627 June 2017 Categories: London & ElsewhereTags: Delia · PYO · Recipes · StrawberriesLeave a comment

One of the greatest pleasures of a British summer is picking your own strawberries. Last Friday, with the kids on a school inset day, we headed off to Parkside Farm PYO in Enfield, north London.